Concept: According to current psychological models there are four stages of learning, or competence, that we go through as part of improving or acquiring any skill.

• Unconscious incompetence – At this stage you don't know what your problems are or how to identify them. You may or may not know that something is not working, but you have no idea what it is or how to go about fixing it. In other words, you don't know what you don't know. With skiing one doesn’t know what one is doing ineffectively. We often hear: “I’m in a rut and I’m not getting any better!”

• Conscious incompetence – With conscious incompetence you are aware of a lot of your problems, but you don't know how to correct them. With skiing one becomes aware of what one is doing ineffectually.
• Conscious competence – In this stage you know how to correct your problems, but it will take time and practice. You know what you know and can apply it as long as you are concentrating and focusing on it. It is outside of your comfort zone. With skiing one learns a new movement (more efficient and effective habit) but has to think about it.
  

• Unconscious competence – you know what you know, and you no longer have to think about it. You have become so skilled at it that it's automatic and comes naturally. In skiing one uses the more efficient and effective movement pattern automatically. This is the point when the body accepts the new movement without thought.

Clendenin Method coaches pride themselves on their ability to guide you from a state of unconscious incompetence all the way to conscious competence. The primary purpose of our Keys to the Kingdom is to introduce you to new more efficient habits as you gain conscious competence. When you first feel the effectiveness of a new movement, you begin to understand the movement and trust your body with the new movement. Perfect practice of the Keys develops and reinforces conscious competence.

The next level, unconscious competence, arrives when the body embraces and executes the new effective move without thought. Helping you achieve unconscious competence is our coaching goal. Reaching this wonderful level of great skiing will require the development of foot-eye coordination (See Tip #1) garnered from continuous deliberate practice.

A simple explanation of the four stages of learning demonstrates your understanding of the concept.

Tip #1 from Crystal: We all know what hand-eye coordination is – the communication between our brain and what our hand does, like brushing teething, drinking coffee, or buttering toast. We rarely have this connection with our feet – we walk, jog, and skip without being aware of the sensations in our feet. CM believes that most advances in our skiing start with the feet. If you want to advance in skiing, you need to develop what we call foot-eye coordination, awareness of the sensations and habits in your feet.

Tip #2 from Johnny C: As the learning process goes through the four stages, often the most challenging is the second stage, conscious incompetence. Great athletes embrace the moment an inefficient or ineffective movement is exposed. Those of us less secure in our skills often experience considerable frustration when our flaws are exposed. Needless to say, athletes move through this stage quickly. CM focuses on this phase of learning and helps all those who are experiencing conscious incompetence to relax and embrace the learning experience.

Tip #3 from Andrew (Pisco): CM uses the stop light metaphor to describe the comfort level skiers have with the amount of attention terrain requires. For example:

“green light” = skiers are comfortable because the terrain does not threaten them and requires little attention.

“yellow light” = skiers have to pay attention – initially it could be trees, or people, or steepness that require our attention.

“red light” = raises hair on the back of our necks. This terrain highjacks all our attention and survival instincts take over.

CM's goal is to see the colors change when yellow becomes green and red becomes yellow!

Concept: Understanding these four words is essential as they embody important concepts for your advancement in skiing. Understand that the Four Words™ are paired off in two’s for good reason. We drift and center all the time. We touch and tip to initiate the new turn. Think of each word as a container for storing what is learned in relationship to each particular aspect of great skiing. A basic understanding of the Four Words™ is enough to achieve this CM Fundamentals objective.

Tip #1 from Crystal: Some students struggle with the definition of the word drift. Drifting in CM means anything between one touch and the following touch or between the Love Spot™ and the end of the turn, as long as it is done with intention. The drift can be a carve, a sideslip, or any finessing of the edges in between, but not a skid! Skidding occurs when the skier has unintended sideways movement. When we use the term drift, it can apply to soft edges or high edge angles for carving, as long as it's done with intention.

These are two drawings looking down at the imprint of the right foot (like an imprint in the sand). The darkened area shows where most of the weight or balance is located for each drawing.

A. This imprint shows more balance on the “big-toe edge” as if tipping the foot slightly on edge causing the knee to bend towards the center of the body mass.

B. Shows the same foot with more balance on the “little-toe edge” as if tipping the foot out slightly on edge causing the knee to bend away from the center of mass (sensations in the foot define the Epiphany Pad).

The little-toe pad area B. (leaning out away from center) is larger and therefore is more area for perceiving sensations (proprioception) than is the smaller ball-of-the-foot area A. (inward). We call this fleshy pad (B.) on the outside of the foot, the Epiphany Pad™. When using the Epiphany Pad™, we consider the whole side of the foot, from the little toes to the side of the heel.

Ingemar Stenmark has more World Cup wins (86) than any other alpine skier.

We Should Pay This Guy!

"He's a perfect demo for an All-Mountain CM skier. He's totally relaxed in his tall Killy-esque stance. His body is shaped in a perfect Kinetic curve in response to his edge angles. With his developed sense of momentum he owns angulation with inclination ….but most importantly, we see a slight divergence in his ski tips which clearly demonstrates pressure and balance on his Epiphany Pad. Even though everything about this picture looks attainable, it still hints that we may be looking at a ski sensei - oh...could this be... Stenmark?"

Tip #1 from Johnny C: The Epiphany Pad™ is what we use to engage the edge of our inside/uphill skis. Most instruction literature refers to this edge as the “little-toe edge”. This is misleading as the little-toe edge is the weakest part of the Epiphany Pad™. The strongest part of the Epiphany Pad™ is in the heel area. The heel area is where our bone structure connects up the body - up the ankle, up the femur and through the spine. One can learn a lot about skiing by standing and playing with these two moves!

Tip #2 from Pisco: Why do we call it the Epiphany Pad™? Because when you learn to find and center on the Epiphany Pad™, you will experience a dramatic realization of the power of CM to improve your skiing ability and you’ll have epiphanies!

Tip #3 from Mark: If you were waiting for a cab in Melbourne, you’d park your haunches over your EP, specifically the heel area of your EP. Why? Because it’s the most restful way to stand.

Anatomy of a turn – CM Fundamentals

John’s Definition from the CM Video, Finding the Love Spot: Love Spot™ -- 1) the moment of rapture in skiing; 2) a fleeting, edgeless moment experienced by all great skiers and the rest of us who do not step, stem, or hop into a turn; 3) the spot in a turn where the Dance with Gravity begins.

Concept: In CM, we define the turn initiation as the moment in time when the you release the engagement of the downhill edge. This release is always cued by the pole touch. With the release, you move intentionally towards a new direction. All CM skiers should be aware of these movements and understand how the touch, then tip works together in initiating the new turn. The Love Spot™ (the edgeless moment) happens for parallel skiers and always occurs in the first third of the turn, before reaching the fall line.

Tip #1 from Johnny C: The “Ah Ha” moment resides in the first third of a turn, the moment when our skis float edgeless with gravity in the Love Spot™. This “Ah Ha” Love Spot™ does not feel natural as human beings instinctively resist free-falling. The Clendenin Method is based on the tenet that stemming owes its existence to this innate instinctive fear of falling. Understand that when we were gorillas, we did not like slipping. We would set one claw in the mud and we would not pick it up until the other foot had dug its claw in the mud. Voila – the stem! With skiing experience, we may have learned to embrace the idea of slipping and sliding without fear. Unfortunately, the instinctual fear of gravity remains in the form of the stem habit. When we replace the habit of stemming with a parallel turn initiation (edges release instead of a weight transfer stem), the Love Spot™ is discovered and the magic dance with gravity begins.

Tip #2 from Crystal: Eliminating the stem will be your initial focus of CM’s Keys to the Kingdom. Once you can consistently make parallel turns, you feel the difference between an embracing move versus a defensive move and a huge number of possibilities become available on every turn.

Tip #3 from Johnny C: In all the ski technique literature, there is no consensus on the moment the inside ski becomes the new outside ski or when the outside becomes the inside. However, CM clearly says that the ski changes its identification with the edge change. One characteristic of the Love Spot™ is that it is edgeless. So, it is not until the skis find their new edges as they exit the Love Spot™, that they earn their new names. (outside ski becomes inside and inside ski becomes outside).

Concept: The middle third of the turn occurs when your ski edges are first engaged as they approach the fall line having passed through the Love Spot™. This is where your intention takes hold to shape your new turn.

Tip #1 from Johnny C: If you execute a centered parallel turn entry coming out of the Love Spot™, you can shape an infinite variation of turns with intention. The Love Spot™ opens the door for all the options, including carving, steering softly, cascading, or engaging a Squeegee Move™, which truncates the turn and engages the new Epiphany Pad™.

Tip #2 from Mark: Even after replacing the stem with a parallel entry, you may continue to be challenged by the innate fear of free falling. This instinct may cause you to rush through your release to gravity cutting off the Love Spot™. Be patient with yourself. Learning to embrace the Love Spot™ requires practice. Try pausing in the Love Spot™ and experience the playfulness of rounded turns.

Concept: This is where you show off the beauty of skiing with intention. You are driving the car, not riding in it. You are proactive, not reactive. You can finesse your edges at will and drift with intention choosing the best lines through terrain.

Tip #1 from Pisco: The technical focus of this bottom third of the turn should be drifting and centering on the new Epiphany Pad™, thereby setting yourself up to make a parallel turn entry for the next turn. This habit opens the door for more turn possibilities.

Cascading is a subset of drifting, when intentionally sliding more down the hill than across. Cascading should be managed with a higher percentage of balance on the top foot. Balance on the top foot always opens the door for more turn options when skiing moguls. John likes the word “Cascading” better than “side slipping”. It is more passionate.

Skill: You would be surprised how many experienced skiers struggle to drift! Most have never learned that it is OK to slide downhill when skiing. By practicing variations in drifting, you will improve your foot-eye coordination and refine your tipping and centering awareness. You should be able to drift more or less straight down the fall-line (Cascading™) and also slightly backwards and slightly forwards (Falling Leaf), as well as drift down and across a run.

Tip # 1 from Pisco: It is important that you learn to drift accurately while feeling balance on your Epiphany Pad™ (exp: look for 60% on the top foot – 40% on the bottom). The body is stronger when we stand on our Epiphany Pad™. It is less tiring because we are supported by our skeletal structure. In contrast, coaches can see when people are drifting on their downhill (big-toe edge) because it creates ugly bends in the body and causes the ski-tips to scissor (the bottom ski unnaturally behind the top ski).

Tip #2 Johnny C: Coaches can tell immediately how much balance is on your top foot by looking at your feet. A “tight unit” has your toes even and your stance as close as functionally possible. When most of your balance is on the bottom foot your skis are uneven and split with the top way in front. This split in the unit makes it impossible to dance with gravity.

Skill: Many skiers don’t have a pole touch or, if they do, they don’t have any idea what it is for! The proper, yet simple function of the pole touch, is to cue the release of the downhill ski to initiate the new turn. We call it a pole-touch for a reason. It is not a pole plant for the inefficient habit of shifting weight. It is rather a simple flick, lifting the pole tip with a slight opening of the wrist. Then letting the tip simply drop, to cue the release. It should touch in front and downhill of the downhill boot. As you pass the pole tip, (cueing the releases of the downhill ski) your core commits to gravity and moves into the Love Spot™. To be effective the pole motion must be simple and efficient.

Tip #1 from Mark:

From a standstill in the Killy stance, practice the correct pole movements from the flick to the touch, until you get it right. I have seen skiing transform when clients learn the proper function of the pole touch.

Tip #2 from Johnny C: The “tip” word can be confusing. I have considered changing it to “twitch” because it is almost effortless like the twitch of an eyelid. Understanding that the “tip” is always a lateral downslope move simplifies the “most important moment” in skiing.

Pole flick - JC and Andy Mill

Notice how Andy and I both have our pole tips in front of our hands. We are not reaching downhill to touch. If we did, our core would cross our momentum and cause our skis to lose their grip. With our skis washed out, our core loses its connection to our momentum. With our pole tips in front, we can keep our core facing our direction of travel and spring loaded to respond in our Dance with Gravity.

Skill: The Squeegee Move™ can blow your mind when you realize all the technical facets accomplished by this simple Key! The two most important facets are 1) scraping the inside ski underneath the center of mass generates a turn shape, and 2) the Squeegee Move™ re-centers you on your new Epiphany Pad™ (inside uphill ski). You should start this key on a green run. Separate your feet a good hand width apart. Start with a straight run down the fall line. Be aware that the ski next to the pole-touch scrapes towards center. This scraping foot becomes the inside/uphill foot. To pass this skill, you should be aware of the proper sequence of events and be able to execute a clean Squeegee Move™. When first learning this Key, find a place where the direction of your turn will bring you a bit uphill as you come to a stop. Do several in one direction, then find another slope that fits the other direction.

Tip #1 from Johnny C: The squeegee is initially a foot-eye test. Ask yourself, “Can I isolate a simple scraping move standing on a green slope?” Simply scrape the top foot even and parallel to the down slope foot. Now repeat with the same foot action while moving downhill. Remember, in the initial test your feet should be separated by at least a hand width. With minimum speed, touch the pole then tip the ski next to the pole on edge (to the Epiphany Pad). Now scrape the tipped ski into the other, keeping the skis even and parallel. When completed correctly, you will have turned uphill with your skis parallel, your toes even, and your balance on the Epiphany Pad™.

Tip #2 from Pisco: Many students on a straight run begin a turn before initiating the Squeegee Move™. The goal is for the turn to happen as a result of the Squeegee Move™. When a turn is started before the Squeegee, you will not experience how the Squeegee Move™ creates turn-shape and re-centers one on the Epiphany Pad™. Make sure to start on a straight run. Other than the touch, the only move made is the scraping of the ski next to the pole (the one that becomes the new inside/uphill ski). The Squeegee Move™ is effortless!

Tip #3 from Johnny C: By starting the Squeegee Move™ from a straight run, you are simulating the Key starting in the Love Spot™ (skis are flat and even). When you start linking squeegees, the goal is to begin making parallel entrees as you tip to scrape.

Tip #4 from Mark: Practice the scrape in a stationary position first. Notice that you are scraping with the Epiphany Pad™. Make sure the scrape brings your feet together with the boots even.

Tip #5 from Johnny C: The most powerful part of the Epiphany Pad™ is toward the heel. If the heel is dominant in the scrape, the ski tips will separate or diverge a bit. A little divergence in the ski tips is OK – a million times better than convergence! This is your first experience of what CM calls the “Power of the High Heel.” We will explore this more later!

John’s favorite mantra: “Touch to the Love and Squeeze™.” This mantra is the best warm-up practice for advanced skiers.

Concept: In order to correct the stem habit, it is not entirely necessary that you are aware that you are making one, but it certainly helps! You should understand the importance of the Love Spot™. You should also know that a stem turn entry means that the turn will not have a Love Spot™ (stem is stepping over the Love Spot from one big toe edge to the other).

Tip #1 Crystal: At this level, you should be able to recognize when you stem (conscious incompetence). You cannot develop conscious competence (new habit) unless you recognize the stem (old habit) and feel the difference. As you develop the efficiency of a parallel turn, remember that you still have to sell it to your body. Your instinct will fight for the old habit until it realizes that the new parallel habit is safer and more efficient.

Concept: Standing centered on the top foot before turn initiation virtually guarantees that you will initiate the turn with a parallel entry. This is true because it is impossible to stem the ski you are not standing on. If you understand this and finish turns with your balance migrated to the top foot, then you are well on your way to better skiing.

Tip #1 from Crystal: Students often make extra moves, without awareness, before or after getting centered on their top foot. They may center on their top foot and then, unknowingly re-center on their bottom foot. They stem out on their top foot and then balance on it. The extra movements will disappear with the practice of drifting variations.

Concept: Balancing on the top ski makes it easier to release the downhill ski first. This sequence leads to a parallel turn initiation. The top ski will automatically follow the downhill ski into the turn. A parallel turn entry allows the core to move freely in the direction of the new turn’s intention.

Tip #1 from Johnny C: You can quickly learn a lot by watching skiers from behind. Most noticeable on groomed green/blue runs is the separation of the ski tails at turn initiation resulting in a stem turn. Great skiers' tails don’t separate. Sometime great skiers' tails cross as their ski tips diverge! This is why we don’t like twin tips as the tails get stuck together.

Tip #2 from Johnny C: I watched Killy ski away from me in Val d’Isere France in 1976. I’ll never forget the moment. With my eyes glued to his feet, I noticed that there was a slight gap between his boot tops at turn initiation. The gap in his boot top was created when his bottom ski released first at turn initiation.

Concept: You should be aware of appropriate lengths, widths of skis, and boot flex ratings. You should understand what a DIN setting is and know what the recommended setting is for your height, weight, and ability level. Thanks to improved modern materials, appropriate ski length will often be shorter than what you are used to. Length and width don’t create stability just as the “first person down is not necessarily the best!” Too much forward lean in a boot prevents a tall and relaxed neutral stance and causes skiers to ski in an over-flexed position all day. This makes for a very tiring day on the hill. A straighter more upright cuff enables more efficient skiing.

Tip #1 from Mark: Ski length for all mountain skiing, including bump skiing, should be around chin to eyebrow height. A little longer if you ski with more speed, a little shorter if you are less athletic, older, and are having problems with body parts/injuries. Go stiffer if you are heavy or less skilled, softer if you are lighter, nimble and more skilled. Ski width should be somewhere in low-80s to mid-90s underfoot. Too narrow skis result in less balance, a smaller platform, and feel nervous under foot. Too wide skis are harder to tip, release, and manage in bigger tighter bumps, ultimately requiring more effort. DIN is a mathematical derived setting, so always have a qualified ski tech make DIN setting adjustments. Boot stiffness should be around 90 flex for lightweight skiers at slow speeds and lesser skill-levels. 100 to 120 flex is good for mid to heavy weight skiers at medium to high speeds with advanced skills. A flex above 120 is only for competitive skiers.

Skill: CM students learn that turn shape, not hard edge engagement, enables them to manage speed in the bumps. Having a parallel turn entry to a Love Spot™, sets skiers up to drift and center with intent through the rest of the turn. To achieve CM Fundamentals certification for this skill, you should be able to demonstrate turns with the ski tips perpendicular to the fall line (across). You should also show consistent speed management in turns of various radii on all groomed terrain.

Tip #1 from Johnny C: You’ll learn a lot about your center by pointing your tips above perpendicular to the fall-line before turn initiation. This is a skill that will come in very handy later on, especially in bumps. CM calls this skill turning “up the bump”.

Concept: The Kinetic Chain refers to the body positions that naturally form from skiing movements initiated in the feet. Standing on a slight slope tip both feet on edge. Your body will curve naturally to stay balance. This curve is called angulation and it moves up the body naturally. Learn to embrace angulation as it is one of the few great things that happen naturally in skiing.

Body positions flowing from skiing with the feet through the Kinetic Chain are the opposite to the awkward body positions that skiers force themselves into when they try to use their body to make things happen to the skis. Starting from the Killy stance, you should be able to tip your skis on edge with movements originating in the feet.

Tip #1 from Johnny C: Experiencing the Kinetic Chain presents us with a perfect opportunity to reinforce the importance of balancing on the Epiphany Pad™. From a tall stance with skis perpendicular to the fall line, stand on the downhill ski, tipping it on the big-toe edge. Notice that in this stance there is an unsightly bend that develops in the knee of the downhill leg. Also notice how weak that position feels. Follow up by standing tall and relaxed on the uphill foot with the ski tipped to its little-toe edge. Now, standing on the Epiphany Pad™, muscles are supported by the bone structure from the ankle up into the femur, up the spine, and out of the nose! The ease, strength, and structure of an Epiphany Pad™ stance in the Kinetic Chain will become home as the epiphanies explode!

Skill: Clients often come to CM making a stem initiation in even the easiest of bumps and complain of difficulties with speed management. The biggest step for soon-to-be-bump skiers is learning to recognize a stem initiation while skiing in the moguls. Typically, many will be challenged by tipping down slope on the top of a bump to initiate a new turn. Most will revert to a stem when they find themselves in a (red light) challenging situation.

To pass this skill, you need to recognize the difference between when you stem and when you don’t. Knowing and feeling the difference is the objective (conscious incompetence vs. conscious competence). You should also be conscious of how the new skill of Cascading™ allows you to easily find the path of least resistance through the bumps.

Concept: CM Certification is a step-by-step program designed to improve your skiing as well as help you track your progress. You should also be aware of Tough Love™ Movement Analysis. We highly recommend that you get your own Tough Love™ Movement Analysis early in your certification progression.

Tip #1 from Mark: Tough Love™ is having the guts to watch yourself with no excuses. This is what you are being asked to do here, and this is what you really need to do to get to the next level. If you are passing or have passed the stage of conscious incompetence via a Tough Love™ Movement Analysis, you will be well on your way to CM Advanced certification!

Tip #2 from Johnny C: Many Tough Love™ Movement Analysis clients have made the statement that they feel that the TLMA is more valuable than any private lesson they’ve ever had!

Concept: CM All-Mountain is all about what the name implies – being able to ski anywhere on the mountain in pretty much any conditions. By the time you reach this level in the certification pathway, you will have been taught all the techniques necessary to ski any terrain. However, what cannot be taught is finesse, i.e., how much, when, and where to apply your new arsenal of skills to master the dance with gravity. You must demonstrate an understanding of Dark Side tactics and concepts. Remember, the responsibility to learn the Dark Side lies with you. Only by taking ownership of your learning progression and engaging in deliberate practice will you succeed at this level (unconscious competence)! 

Objective: You will have already demonstrated an understanding of the Four Words™ and where they apply in each turn at previous levels of the certification pathway. At the CM All-Mountain level, you should be able to maintain confidence in this knowledge even while skiing in more difficult terrain and skiing various tactics and lines, such as Cascading™, or skiing up-the-bump. You should be able to both verbalize and demonstrate your understanding with confidence. 

Skill: Painting the Turn™ refers to having a pole motion whose timing matches the shape and tempo of the turn being made. Painting the Turn™ and doing the Squeegee work together to shape turns. As the turn takes shape the pole tip swings with the shape. Once you own these movements on groomed, they become automatic when introduced skiing bumps. We call this automatism, “training your puppies”! Your feet are like puppies – once trained they will perform. For example, you only have to look ahead and decide where you want to make the next turn, and your feet will perform and automatically do the rest. For this task, you must demonstrate linked, drifted turns with deliberate turn shape and a pole tip motion that matches that turn shape.

Tip #1 from Johnny C: With the Power of the High Heel™ and the Squeegee working together, you will be ready to turn at any time. When you’re ready to turn, you’ll be surprised how many more options you see!  

Tip #2 from Johnny C: Unfortunately, most skiers have trouble looking ahead of their own feet one turn at a time. The new stability you find in the High Heel™ allows you to look ahead. As the pole touches, your attention goes to the next turn and locates the next pole touch. The best bump skiers can visualize 2 or 3, sometimes even 4 turns (or bumps) ahead.

Task: On steep terrain and at higher speeds, CM skiers benefit from recognizing that the strongest part of their Epiphany Pad™ is in the heel. By putting some Heel (power) into their Squeegee Movements, you will feel stronger and more stable. You will be asked to demonstrate use of the High Heel in Cascading™ turns. If you make the right moves, your ski tips will be even and your skis parallel throughout the turn. 

Skill: At the CM All-Mountain level, you must understand the relationship between the High Heel™, your primary source of power for turn-shape, and the pole (tip) swing. Coaches will look to see that you consistently demonstrate the relationship between these in your skiing. All skiing should be executed with a Paint the Turn™, meaning that the tempo of the pole swing and pole-tip-flick (pole tip in front of the hand) is appropriate for the turn shape. The pole touch should always include the flick!

Tip #1 Johnny C. Whenever Cascading the turn is over, meaning the pole tip should be in the ready, in the flicked position. This new habit creates more options in all-mountain skiing. You start to see possibilities you would not have seen without the flick!

Skill: As a CM All-Mountain candidate, you should demonstrate linked, deliberate Balance Migrations at low speeds. Coach Mark Borderick points out, “If you can do it slowly, then you really own it.” The Balance Migration™ requires accurate migration of balance from Epiphany Pad™ to Epiphany Pad™ and demonstrates you are capable of consistently releasing the downhill ski (big-toe edge) first. 

Skill: The Tip and Tuck is another way of ensuring that one of the CM axioms (releasing the big toe edge of the downhill ski first) is followed. The first step in the progression is to lift the downhill ski as you pass the pole touch, with the ski level (this demonstrates that you are centered). As you release and pass through the Love Spot™, you softly put the new lifted inside ski, back on the snow.

Tip #1 from Johnny C: Check how you’re lifting the downhill ski. The ski should lift with the touch sensation. If the ski lifts with the tip high, then you’re too far back (unless you are turning up above the fall line). If the ski tip is down (most typical of skiers who have been taught “press the shins forward against the boot” at all times) you are too far forward at release moment.  

Skill: The next step in the progression is to put the lifted ski back on the snow with some oomph, thereby re-centering them on the new Epiphany Pad™ High Heel™ and helping you shape your turn. This is a good tactic for steeper terrain. 

Skill: At this step in your development, coaches will be emphasizing the development of foot-eye coordination and how to use the Epiphany Pad™ of the new inside ski to shape the turn. Try placing your new inside ski back on the snow on the Epiphany Pad™ as you pass through the fall line. With the new inside ski in place, squeegee it in to finish the turn. This exercise helps train your puppies and develops unconscious competence turn shaping. 

Skill: Painting the Turn™ not only readies your pole early for the coming turn, it helps your core stay connected to the direction of momentum. 

Tip #1 from Johnny C: The Tip and Tuck™ serves as a great self-check. It makes it easy for you to tell whether you are moving to the Epiphany Pad™ before turn initiation and whether you are releasing the downhill ski first (the two axioms of the CM). However, lifting the downhill ski is not the only way to release it. Once you are comfortable with the Tip and Tuck™, you should be able to make the same movement patterns to execute great turns without lifting the downhill ski to release it. 

Concept:

CM avoids technobabble at the Fundamental Level in order to focus on the single most important correction skiers need: the elimination (replacement) of the Stem Habit! At the CM All-Mountain level, however, coaches will expect understanding of what skis are doing! You should understand and be able to explain the three primary ways (edge, pressure, and steering) in which the skis can be manipulated to manage direction, terrain, and speed. This will also enable you to explain CM to skiers and instructors trained in other instructing systems such as the PSIA, APSIA, NZSIA, or BASI. This is important because CM All-Mountain certified skiers are the face of the Clendenin Method and hopefully, you exemplify the efficiency, grace, and power of CM.

Tip #1 from Crystal: In CM, the easiest place to describe and implement variations of edge, pressure, and steering is as you exit the Love Spot™ and enter the middle third of the turn.

Skill: At the All-Mountain level, you should be able to execute drifting variations such as Cascading, Up-the-Bump, and half-turns with confidence and consistent ski-snow contact to manage momentum and pressure in all terrain, including bumpy black terrain. 

Skill: Mastery of the Up-the-Bump move is demonstrated by being comfortable with various approach angles and approach speeds. In order to manage speed, turn your ski tips uphill in the bottom third of the turn (as shown in images 1, 2, and 3). To achieve this level of certification, demonstrate the use of the Up-the-Bump move in Blue-Black bump terrain.

Up-the-Bump - Portillo

Skill: To achieve CM All-Mountain level certification, you were required to demonstrate several variations of the Tip and Tuck™ on steep groomed terrain. The Tip and Tuck™ really comes into its own as a tool used in the bumps. CM All-Mountain candidates should be able to demonstrate linked Tip and Tucks™ in the bumps. In fact, you should use this Key or a variation of it as a foot-eye warm-up every day that you ski. 

Skill: The basic difference between a Tip and Tuck™ and a Balance Migration™ is momentum. A Balance Migration™ is conducted with little or no momentum, so that flaws in your movement pattern can’t be hidden behind speed (speed hides flaws!). Practicing Balance Migration™ in the bumps reminds the feet where the Teeter-Totter Moment™ is located and what the feet need to do in order to initiate a turn. You will be required to identify in the Balance Migration™ the two axioms of the CM: 1. Migrating balance to the uphill foot before releasing the downhill edge, and 2. Releasing the downhill ski and commit the core to momentum. Deliberate Balance Migration™ practice makes for a great warm-up and should be practiced on every ski day. 

Tip #1 from Johnny C Notice in the Up-the-Bump illustration (above) that my ski tips are facing up above the fall line (positions #1-3). You are more comfortable on a horse you know you can slow down. This key for speed management immediately brings the wild pony to her knees!

Tip #2 from Johnny C: Notice that as I pass the pole touch, my attention and focus are on my next turn.

Skill: Exciting “thumpless” skiing is the ultimate goal of the CM. Only skiers who manage their momentum can ski “thumplessly”.  Stemmers cannot manage their momentum, especially in steep bumpy terrain. On top of all that, only skiers who ski “thumplessly” will have the whole mountain open to them until the end of their skiing days! (Refer to Johnny C’s Blog on Thumplessness.) At this level, you should be able to ski with sufficient speed management and ski-snow contact in black bumps to demonstrate “thumplessness” at nominal speed, followed by a comfortable more natural speed. A clean nominal speed demonstration will get you a pass, but coaches will want to see both. 

Tip #1 from Johnny C There are two places you can Thump on a bump, 1) coming into the bump and 2) coming off the bump. In the Up-the-Bump illustration, Objective 7a, position #3, I’m responding to pressure building up under my feet by absorbing the pressures with my whole body. The Great French technician Joubert called it bracage. We call it simply flexing one’s legs. In positions #5 and #6, I’m maintaining resistance and snow contact by extending my legs. With a tight unit for a parallel entry, and confidence in my technique, my brain is free to focus on the feeling of pressure sensations transmitted from my feet.  This cannot be taught it can only be learned!

Skill: The half-turn requires you to tie your pole-touch to your turn initiation to make quick and accurate migrations from Epiphany Pad™ to Epiphany Pad™ (or “heel to heel”, as our preferred mantra goes). To achieve CM All-Mountain certification, you should: 1) Demonstrate the ability to make clean, technically sound half-turns on groomed blue terrain. 2) Choose appropriate locations to make half-turns in the bumps, and then execute them! Each edge release should be cued by an appropriate pole touch.

In the first of a pair of half-turns, the ski tips turn down, but do not cross the fall line. In the second half-turn of a pair, the ski tips turn back across the slope (to continue across the slope in same direction you were headed before the first half-turn). Watch yourself for the classic attempt to make this happen via rotary push-off – a correct half-turn is heel-to-heel.

Tip #1 from Johnny C: Half-turns are the quickest, most efficient way to change lines in a bump run. A good place to practice half-turns is on a wide bump run. Ski from one side to the other, making multiple half- turns in each direction.

Skill: Great skiing should be playful and exciting to watch. As skiers master “The Dark-Side” and the “Things That Can’t Be Taught”, they gain the ability to dance with gravity. This is when skiing the bumps really starts to become fun. Bold confidence in the use of the Love Spot™ and in the intuitive flexion/extension movements will translate into "thumpless" skiing that is exciting to watch and will earn students a place as a representative of CM. 

Tip #1 from Pisco: Learning to dance with gravity and play with the terrain is not taught – it is learned as you ski facing the challenges of infinitely varied terrain. However, CM can help you face those exciting challenges.  I use the words soft, playful, slinky, or slimy (Johnny C’s all-time favorite) in the hopes of directing your focus more on finesse and playfulness. Coaches aim to expand your solid technical range of motion by having you exaggerate movements in their demonstrations and experimenting with slow skiing on easy blue bump terrain. 

Tip #2 from Johnny C: Watching most bumpers skiing straight down the fall-line is boring. Their skiing is like “The Twist”, the popular 1960’s dance. In contrast, it is exciting to watch several CM Coaches or Graduates skiing down a bump run together. It’s like watching a Waltz or a Tango. Any dance is more interesting than The Twist. A real benefit in learning to ’Dance with Gravity’ is that you will be skiing a lot longer!

Skill: CM students start by learning to stand on the uphill ski before turn initiation because this makes stemming impossible, and because it makes releasing the downhill ski easy. However, the downhill ski can also be released first while it is weighted. All-Mountain candidates are expected to demonstrate, from standing on uphill edges with skis across the hill, the ability to balance on the downhill ski and then release it (weighted release). A series of weighted releases are Balance Migrations from downhill foot to downhill foot.

This same release should be performed on groomed blue runs. The new downhill/outside ski should be engaged before the skis pass through the fall line. Completing the turn with balance primarily on the outside ski sets up the weighted release for the next turn initiation (This is called a White Pass Turn).

Tip #1 from Pisco: A great way to demonstrate the difference between an unweighted and weighted release is to practice Balance Migrations™ alternating between the traditional Balance Migration™ and one where the foot balance switches at initiation (i.e., the uphill ski is lifted at initiation instead of the downhill one). This is how I generally ask my students to first attempt a weighted release. I only introduce this move to skiers who have made a habit of using the high-heel and who no longer stem.

Tip #2 from Johnny C: Another way to train the feet to do a weighted release is to simply perform several Balance Migrations™ on one foot (meaning all the elements of the Balance Migration™ are there except the Migration – no change of feet). You should be able to perform “pivot slips” down a fall line on one foot. When on one foot the direction change is from an “un-weighted release” to the other, which is a “weighted release”.

Tip #3 from Johnny C: The White Pass Turn named by the Mahre Brothers, is a speed maximization move primarily for racing. Regardless, it is a solid move for the feet to learn!

Objective: If you clearly show CM All-Mountain level performance in an existing Tough Love™ Movement Analysis, then you have satisfied this requirement. If you were not at this level in your most recent Tough Love™ but have since shown improvement based on your feedback and are now skiing at the All-Mountain level, then you will have satisfied this requirement.  

Concept: By putting you in the role of an instructor, you have an opportunity to identify the weaknesses in your own understanding of CM. At this level, it is critical that you thoroughly understand the Four Words™, the Keys, and the tactic(s) you use most often, not only for your own benefit, but so that you become an effective CM ambassador. 

Concept: Verbalizing and sharing your understanding of the Anatomy of the turn creates opportunities for you to identify gaps in your understanding. For example: It is equally critical that there is no doubt in your mind where different movements happen. This includes where in the turn the pole touch is made, the edge is released, the Love Spot™ occurs, when the new Epiphany Pad™ can be squeegeed under-center, when to drift, center, or cascade and how to appropriately match these moments to the skiing terrain.

Concept: Completing CM All-Mountain certification is a big achievement! You have achieved this through consistent, deliberate practice. You are skiing as well as 99% of all ski instructors.  However, 99% won’t get you a pass on the written quiz, only 100% will pass! FYI: you can’t fail because what you don’t get, we’ll go over, until you own it! It is time to celebrate, because learning what can’t be taught is just beginning!